Mass Effect: Necropolis
by Aerialight
Summary: Two Story arcs, one set during the Reaper War, one set after. The former follows Derelict Squad, an elite team of N7 marines, during their fight to protect earth from Reaper forces. The latter follows present day Lilith Shepard after the war, who is being hunted by those who blame her for the Reaper's attacks. Eventually Derelict Squad will meet Shepard.
1. Chapter 1: Lies

**Earth, 2186 (2 years ago)**

_Sometimes, the best isn't good enough. Sometimes you bring a gun to a knife fight, and find the very same knife sticking out of your back before you pull the trigger. __Rumors of the return of the Reapers first emerged in 2183. Following that was a forced period of reassurance, damage control if you will. __They didn't exist, _we didn't want them to_, they couldn't return now, Shephard destroyed them. Our desperation to maintain our newfound peace blinded us; __the story kept changing as the threat grew closer._

_The Alliance didn't care much for the false reassurances. The Interplanetary Combatives Training program took off, recruiting more marines than ever before. Fueled by fear of the rumors, many soldiers quickly rose to the ranks of the N7. __This __was the highest rank a marine could become through the program, __achieved __through a __long, __grueling__,__ limitless testing phase._

_The problem with an N7 is that they are trained to be leaders on the field. Usually, one N7 is assigned to a group of lower ranking soldiers. These are the most important squads, and subsequent squads of lesser power are commanded by N6 soldiers, then N5, and so on. The Alliance knew this was an effective use of N7 marines, but not the best. _

_They decided that one team should be made up entirely of N7's. They chose the top performing N7's __and put them in a squad together. placed in__ even more dangerous team scenarios. __This is my team._

_The first member of the team is Aegis, an N7 Paladin. His protective personality quickly suited his shield bearing suit. Before becoming an N7, he spent his time as a marine protecting his sister, a researcher on Mars. __Ever since her death from crossfire in a Batarian pirate attack on her station, the guilt-ridden __Aegis vowed to protect others. Unlike other Paladins, Aegis has much more control over his omni-shield, and __has greater control over __its properties such__,__ as size and density._

_Second is Kisari, an N7 Fury. She is the __sole survivor of__ her family, and memories of how they were killed creates a rage that propels her biotics to a dangerous level. They say that some biotics can start to lose their grip between reality and power, which I fear she may be doing. Many __would__ consider her methods sadistic and unusual, but she gets the job done__, and that's all that matters__._

_The next two members should probably be mentioned together,__ as__ they are __inseparable, both off and __ on the field. Epsilon and Zeta__, the__ brother and sister. __They have been together through everything,__ and both flew through the ICT ranks. Epsilon is an N7 Infiltrator, the best sniper in the Alliance, __whereas__ Zeta is an N7 Demolisher, known for her skill with grenades and __any weapon you'll see on the battlefield__. The two often synchronize their movements in battle, and show a strong mutual protection of each__other._

_If a war needs to be won, we send in Rhino__,__ a heavily modified N7 Destroyer. He's bigger than most __of his fellow__ Destroyers, and has cosmetic changes to his armor including a massive spike protruding from his helmet, arm gauntlets with sharpened claws, and much heavier armor plating. Not much is known about Rhino because he doesn't talk, he only growls in low guttural noises. It's unknown if he can't talk, or if he chooses not to, but it's clear that he doesn't need to. What he lacks in personality, he makes up for with inhuman strength and resilience. During training to become an N7, the program had to be put on hold for weeks because he accidentally "broke" the entire facility._

_The final member of the team is myself. My real name is Aaron Warrick, but like the rest of our squad, __I exchanged __my name__for a codename, War. I'm an N7 Soldier, __specializing __at close quarters combat and tactical planning. When the Alliance put our squad together, I was asked to be the leader, and I laughed. We are N7, we don't need a leader. Or at least, that's what I thought. As I've come to find, our group is a delicate one, we all think we can go be lone wolves on the battlefield, with the exception of Epsilon and Zeta._

_Reapers have just attacked Earth. As I ride aboard__our personal starship, the _Phoenix_,__ I hope these data pads that I write over the next few weeks are remembered if I am forgotten. Our superiors have faith that one soldier will bring together the races of our galaxy to fight the Reapers. Until then, Earth must be protected. We are Derelict Squad. When others fail, we do not. Earth will not fall._

**Orbit of Neptune, 2188. (Present day)**

"Lily! Grab that grappler**;** we need to bring that shield driver inside." The voice came from a battered looking character standing aboard a large, boxy spacecraft.

His armor and helmet were extremely damaged and dirty, but were still recognizable as the uniform of the mercenary group, the Eclipse. The craft he stood on was stabilized in space, completely surrounded by chunks of debris.

"Yeah hold on, Sabertooth." replied the figure referred to as Lily. The dark blue hue of her armor contrasted with the soft glow of yellow lights. Although it was heavily damaged, it was still recognizable as the old armor of the Alliance. She reached out and grabbed onto 4-pronged claw, pulling it toward a glowing object floating in space. After it latched on, the object was pulled up into the underside of the ship.

"Anything else useful out there?" asked Sabertooth, his voice being transmitted through his helmet.

"Not a thing. Looks like someone got here before us." Another figure replied, flying from around a large chunk of metal. The white clad Turian swept around, surveying the area.

"You think Scavs would leave behind a working Fortex Relay engine, Vione?" Lily asked as the two figures drifted back toward the ship.

"They probably couldn't find a way to get it onboard, these things weigh about 10 tons. Easy to move in space, but once on a ship's normal gravity it could put a hole through the floor." Vione replied.

The two figures entered the ship's airlock. Lily removed her helmet, letting her long, dirty white hair cascaded down her face. One stripe of her hair was colored blue. Her eyes seemed to glow a dim blue, a striking, beautiful contrast against her grease covered face . She glanced to the side as Vione removed his helmet, revealing black marking that surrounded his eyes, connected to a black stripe that began from his upper lip and continued to the back end of his center head crest.

"The engine is a good one, but we are far from a good quota today. I've got a course set for 90377 Sedna, word is a bunch of Scavs are heading that way. Maybe some good catches. We will hit the Ragnarok on the way back. You two- get some rest. You deserve it." replied Sabertooth as he walked off.

"He's in a charming mood as always. Goodnight Lily." said Vione.

"Goodnight Vione."

The two headed off in separate directions. Lily entered a small room near the back of the ship and closed the door. It was her room, and a humble one at that. Wires hung from the ceiling, the lights were dim and hardly working, and her bed was merely a collection of blankets in the corner of the room.

"Home sweet home." She gruntedas removed her armor, revealing a thin but well-built body. As she sat down on her bed, she reached for an orange holographic data pad, and began to speak softly.

"Log number 134. I realize now that I talk mostly about my adventures, if they could even be called that. I've never really talked much about the ship or our crew at all. I think now may be a good time to do just that.

Our ship is called _Veil_. In the old days, it was a garbage rig, tasked with cleaning up space. Sabertooth has been its captain since long before the war. During the war he outfitted it with weapons, turned it into some sort of makeshift war rig.

After the war, space was filled with the remains of destroyed craft. Many of the garbage rigs went back to their cleaning duties, but some, like the Veil, became scavenging ships. They search the debris of destroyed ships, looking for engines, drives, relays, and other useful parts. The collected parts are then sold to buyers on the Ragnarok. Oh yeah, I forgot to describe the Ragnarok. After the war, the Citadel was destroyed. Ragnarok is a five-sided, pyramidal structure that serves as a temporary base to the council races and cities. It's not nearly as large as the citadel, but its purpose will be short-lived. The buyers there are collecting the ship technology to rebuild the Citadel, to the best of their ability. So far, one of the 5 "arms" of the citadel has been copied and rebuilt, though its technology lacks some of the mysterious properties that the old Citadel held.

The problem with offering money for parts is that it becomes competitive. Other scavengers collecting parts are collectively referred to as Scavs. To them, that's exactly what we are as well. Scavs are no strangers to violence, and will kill each other to get the best parts for the highest payout.

Scavs would be no threat to me. I could bring down a Scav ship in one swipe. But I can't. My fellow crew cannot know what power I behold, for surely they would catch on to who I am. There are too many who oppose who I truly am, too many who think I am the reason why the Reapers came.

I'm not a symbol of hope.

I'm not a savior.

I'm being hunted.

I am Commander Lilith Shepard. "


	2. Chapter 2: Target Practice

**MaRoss Holding Center, Earth, 2186.**

Eddie looked down on the small, box shaped structures of the city through the window of the holding center. Derelict Squad lived here in MaRoss with other teams when they were not out in the field. Most of the rooms were small studio-sized compartments, but the N7 had the "suites." Eddie and Zoey shared an adjoined room, with a kitchen and living room set between the two bedrooms. He entered the living room where Zoey was sitting, dressed in an N7 hoodie and sweatpants. She had a thin build, with straight blonde hair that sat at her shoulders. Eddie was her twin brother, with blonde hair that had been cut to about four inches long and stayed brushed off to the side.

"Hey, Z." He sat down next to her**,** grabbed the remote**and switched on** the telescreen.

"Coming up next, will this new Batarian Babe pill really increase your feminine assets? We have the full story and more on CNN right after the break."

"Wow." remarked Zoey as she stared blankly at the **telescreen.** After a moment of silence, she picked up her datapad.

"What are you writing?"

"A biography of our squad."

Eddie leaned overand glanced at the datapad. "Uh, yeah. Have fun with that."

"You always said I needed a hobby!"

"That wasn't what I had in mind. I meant, like, knitting or painting… you know, something fancy."

"Knitting? I'm 22, not 122 you dick!"

"Oh? So explain these, then!" Eddie grabbed Zoey's reading glasses off the table in front of them and put them on. "Excuse me young lady, could you help me cross the street? I need to get home before my porridge gets cold!"

He stood up and made his way over to the kitchen. "Going to make a pizza, you want some?"

"Whoever thought frozen pizza was a suitable replacement for delivery was a dumbass."

"So was that a yes?"

"Obviously."

A few minutes later he walked back over with the pizza and sat down. "So, you did remember to mention how stunningly handsome I am in that biography of yours, right?" Eddie smirked.

Zoey punched him in the shoulder. "Sure, let me just write how much of a brat you are first."

The two finished their food, and Zoey fell asleep on the couch. Eddie grabbed one of her blankets and covered her up before going to lay in his own bed. The bright, white glow of the full moon shown clear in the night sky, piercing the clear panel that made up the roof. From where he was, the lunar colonies and cities were tiny black blemishes on the otherwise clear, white surface. He quickly drifted to sleep.

The lounge that was the top floor of the MaRoss Holding Center had a dual personality. During the day, it was a subdued lounge; at night, it was a club. Every night, the LED panel-lined walls danced to life, with the colorful lights reflecting off the glossy finish of the white floors. The time was now about midnight, and everyone was either drunk, dancing, or a combination of both. At one of the couches near a back corner of the room adjacent to a window, sat Kari (Kisari) and Andrew (Aegis). Across from them were two members of Storm Squad, Allison (Bat) and Darrius (Roadblock).

"So where are youbeing sent off to?" Andrew asked, sitting at the edge of his seat with his arms resting on his knees. Andrew **was a** well-built **male**, and although he wasseated, his height was undoubtedly on the taller side. His hair was dark brown and buzzed down to almost nothing, connecting to a thin chin strap of facial hair.

"To the Athens System. Hunting down some schizophrenic guy named Ellipsies." Allison replied. She had a fairly well built frame for a female, with dark brown hair that fell to about her mid-neck. Seated next to her was Darrius, a larger man of African descent.

"Yeah, leave it to the Alliance to spring a mission on you right after you were guaranteed time off. I was supposed to see my family at the end of the week, instead I'm chasing down a guy who probably thinks his toilet is out to get him." Darrius stated as he took a drink from his beer.

"Why does the Alliance want him?" Andrew asked, leaning back into the couch. Kari was seated next to him, curled up against the window, glancing out at the night skyline.

"Because Cerberus wants him, and we have no idea why. He has some importance to them, so we want to get to him first. Those bastards are never up to any good."

Aaron, who had just entered the lounge, saw the seated group and made his way over to them. He was dressed in his military uniform, a stark contrast to the relatively casual clothes that everyone else was wearing. He gave a quick nod of his head and dragged a chair over.

"I just spoke to Hackett, we have three days here and then we are getting sent to Vancouver to meet with Admiral Anderson. Three days, enjoy it." His voice was deep, spoken through a stern face. Aaron was almost a poster military male, with short hair, a sturdy build, clean shaven face, and **a** slightly tanned skin.

"Well, we don't leave until the day after tomorrow." Allison replied.

"Two days together then, want to hit up the range tomorrow?" Andrew picked up his beer from the table.

Darrius laughed. "Sounds good. Just make sure Eddie is drunk or something, don't need that showoff making us all look bad."

Aaron smirked. "Oh, I almost forgot, happy birthday Allison!" He pulled out a small wrapped package and handed it to her.

"Blue wrapping paper and a yellow ribbon. I'd expect nothing less from an Alliance Captain." She smiled, and ripped open the paper. Inside was a small, red velvet box, and as she opened it, there was a small silver bat inside of it. "It's beautiful! Thank you!" She lifted up her right arm, revealing a silver charm bracelet with various charms already attached to it. She removed it, and went to work attaching the bat.

Darrius shook his head. "Women and their jewelry."

Andrew stretched his arms, and rose from his seat. "Well I'm off to bed. Try not to win any wars or anything while I'm asleep."

Morning came quickly. Zoey opened her eyes, reaching up to rub the blurriness out of them. She looked at the blanket wrapped around her and smiled. Eddie walked into the room, wearing his Infiltrator armor,weapons holstered. "Andrew stopped by earlier, heading to the range with some of Storm. You wanna come?" he asked, picking up his M-11 Suppressor pistol from the table.

Zoey pulled herself out from the blanket and sat up. "Nawh, I'm going to go see Kari. Try to take it easy on them, yeah?" she replied with a wink.

The two exited the room and parted ways. Zoey made her way to another room, 45b, and knocked on the metal door. A few moments passed, and the sound of a metal lock unlatching was followed shortly by the opening of the door. Kari was standing inside, and Zoey stepped in. Kari was dressed in a tanktop and shorts, revealing an intricate maze of tattoos all across her body.

"Shit, rough night?" Kari asked, noticing Zoey's frazzled hair.

"Crashed on the couch. Might as well spend my college years like I'm actually in college right?" Zoey replied with a laugh.

"Might as well." Kari placed her hand on Zoey's shoulder softly. Zoey turned, placed her hand on Kari's side and kissed her on the lips.

"So how was the lounge last night?"

"I was half asleep for most of it. Warrick said we have three days here, then we are off to Vancouver to meet with Admiral Anderson."

"For what?" Zoey asked as she laid down in Kari's bed.

"Fuck if I know." Kari replied as she placed herself next to Zoey. "Tired of jumping around the planet like this, doing security details and saving cats from trees. We should be out there killing shit."

"Such a sweet talker."

Andrew, Allison, and Darrius were waiting inside the circular shooting range as Eddie walked into the small observation box that overlooked it. Unlike the more traditional ranges, this one was circular, with moving, holographic targets orbiting the far edges of the room.

"Good morning ladies, you sure you don't want to accept surrender now?" Eddie asked, smiling as he took hold of his pistol.

"Not so fast, itchy fingers, I'm up first." retorted Darrius as he pulled an N7 Crusader from his back**,** and pushed his way past the group. He made his way down to the range, and prepped his weapon.

"Hit as many targets as we can in one minute." Ordered the VI in charge of the range.

Targets flickered on and began to rapidly move around him. _Maybe I should show off, _he thought to himself with a confident smirk as he set the range to max speed. The shotgun was the most accurate weapon of its classification, forming a perfect plus sign on his helmet's HUD. His first shot struck the edge of one of the targets. Eddie laughed when he saw this.

"Getting slow, old man!" he called out, his voice ringing above the gunfire and whine of the moving targets in the range. Darrius responded with an angry growl and began to shoot again. He clipped one target and missed the next. With a grunt, he spun around and fired rapidly, taking out three of the center targets. A few successful hits later, he stalked to the edge of the range, shattering one of the holographic screens with his fist.

"Always goes out with a bang." Allison replied, and made her way down to the range. She completed her minute, followed by Andrew. Darrius had 16 hits, Allison had 21, and Andrew had 19.

"An average performance." Eddie sneered as Andrew made his way back up. "Watch and learn, kiddos."

Eddie yanked his sidearm off his thigh as he walked onto the range. The range spun to life, the targets flickered on, and he began tracking his targets. With one hand held behind his back, he began shooting, hitting each and every one of the holograms in center mass. He flicked his wrist behind him, shooting targets with masterful precision.

_Twenty-four targets down, one to go_. He grinned as he tracked the last target, which picked up speed. After a second of tracing its position, he closed his eyes , and waited. His pistol still tracked the target.

"What's the show off wa-" Andrew's question was cut off by a gunshot as Eddie hit the bullseye on the last target.

"You kids took notes? You could use em. Class dismissed." said Eddie as he walked out of the room. The widened eyes of the Storm squad members followed him, and after a moment, they walked after him.


	3. Chapter 3: The Brotherhood of Truth

"Log number 135. It's been two days since we recovered the relay engine. We are a few hours out from Sedna, on the search for more parts, as usual. The trader who purchases our findings, Se'Luuk, is stationed in the Sol system as well. Usually the traders act as the middlemen, purchasing parts from Scavs and selling them to the military. They make a profit, and the military doesn't have to deal with the more vicious of the Scavs.

We came across another wreck yesterday. It was a small Turian cruiser, with fake lettering printed on one of the panels that read "Normandy." This isn't the first one we've seen, either. After the war, many decided to decorate their ships with the Normandy's name or colors, but these imposters were being targeted by someone. Each of these wrecks were marked with a symbol,a B with a circle around it, and a very clear message; _We will find the real Shepard. _"

She was interrupted by a knock on her door. She placed her datapad on her bed and moved over to her door, swinging it open. It was thick and heavy, and squeaked as it opened. Vione was standing at the other side, holding two cups, one with a steaming pink liquid in it and one with a dark brown.

"Do I want to know what's in that?"

"Hanar brew. It, uh, doesn't actually contain Hanar parts."

"Delightful. And the other?"

"Coffee."

"Now you're speaking my language."

"I thought so." Vione handed her the coffee and sat in a chair at the corner of his small room.

"How far away are we from Sedna?"

"About three hours. We are going to make a pitstop at Earth afterward."

"...Earth?"

"Sabertooth called in to Se'Luuk's station, he's traveled to Earth to sell to the Alliance."

"I haven't been there since the war ended."

"Anywhere that is home to the Alliance can't possibly be a good place."

"What do you mean?"

"Lily, what the hell did you do before we found you? Haven't you heard anything about what the Alliance became after the war?"

Lilith did, in fact, know what had become of them, and she knew what dangers awaited her on Earth. "No, nothing bad I hope?" She replied, keeping her cover.

"You'll see when we get there."

**3 Hours Later**

The green and blue sphere of Earth loomed in the distance. Lilith, Vione, and Sabertooth stood on the bridge of the _Veil, _decked out in full armor. Sabertooth sat at the control panel and accelerated the ship towards the planet. The other two stood on either side of him, leaning over his shoulders.

"Damn shame the Scavs beat us to Sedna. Hopefully the Fortex relay scores up some hefty credits."

Memories flooded Shepard's mind, sending a chill down her spine as the _Veil _entered Earth's atmosphere. The last time she was on humanity's cradle, she was on a path to certain death. The Reapers were invading, and behind her were bodies; the product of war. The sound of Alliance soldiers emptying their thermal clips into Reaper proxies and the cries of Banshees filled her ears. Her vision was momentarily replaced by the sight of Brutes crushing Krogan skulls, of Cannibals feasting on Quarians, of Husks and Banshees tearing her fellow humans apart.

She shuddered as she pushed her thoughts away. The scent of seared flesh disappeared, replaced by the metallic smell of the _Veil_'s bridge_._

She snapped back to reality as the _Veil_'s com channel crackled to life. "Unidentified spacecraft, state your cargo and your business in New Detroit."

"Crew of three, here to sell scrap to a trader. Live weapons are onboard, and ship is combat ready."

"Acknowledged, Flight One will escort you to docking bay 8b. Enjoy your business here in New Detroit."

Shepard moved to view out of the rear-view window. A spacecraft flew up behind them, with an all too familiar shape.

"The Normandy?"

"What?"

"The ship behind us."

"Oh, that! Yeah, its design is based off the _Normandy_'s. The Alliance decided to jump on the opportunity to generate hype, and created a new fleet of small fighters, all with that design. Propaganda, you see? People wanted to be like Shepard, might as well give them her ship. Or something like that. You see, although they have the _Normandy_'s _looks_, they don't have her _power._"

Sabertooth and Shepard moved the _Veil_'s door as it docked, ready to exit. A heroic statue of an all too familiar soldier wearing N7 armor looked down upon them as the loading hatch opened. It was mutilated, covered in graffiti, and had broken limbs. Some of the statue's pieces were destroyed by gunfire. Again, there was a circled B placed across her body.

"What the hell is that?" Shepard asked, once again well aware of what she was looking at.

Sabertooth placed his hands on his hips and shook his head as he began explaining.

"Commander Shepard, the Alliance's poster child. '_Commander Shepard wants YOU to join the Alliance military_, that's their slogan. After the war they used her as an object of propaganda, trying to get people to want to join solely to become like her. She's always in full N7 armor, the faceless and voiceless hand of the Alliance.

The graffiti, well that's the work of something much worse. The Brotherhood of Truth. That B there, that's their symbol. They believe Shepard is still alive, and that she is the reason the Reapers came here. Sort of like a balance of power kind of thing, like only Shepard or the Reapers can exist in the galaxy at one point in time, and the Reapers only came here to destroy Shepard. You know all those fake _Normandy _wrecks that we've been finding? That's what they all are. Fakes. Did you ever what happened to the real_Normandy_? Disappeared at the same time that Shepard did, and these guys believe they took it and are out there somewhere."

"What made them come up with the idea that Shepard was the reason for this?"

"The Brotherhood is made up of people who lost a lot during the war. People go to a dark place when they lose family and start to believe in twisted and warped things without seeing reality. They have it in their heads that the Reapers may return, and that killing Shepard is the only hope for preventing this tragedy from happening ever again."

The two made their way to the rear of the Veil, where Vione was moving a hovering pad over to the cargo door.

"Do you believe she's alive?" Shepard asked, glancing at Sabertooth. Vione walked over to join them.

"The reason for Shepard and her entire crew disappearing is too obvious to me. My guess is, they had enough and just took off after the war. Probably partying on the Ragnarok right now without a care in the world, rolling in whatever check the Alliance gaveShepard to keep quiet so they could use her as this...image."

"I don't think Shepard would have that little integrity."

"All I'm saying is, with a war like that, there isn't a better time to realize that life is short. If I were in her position I'd probably drop it all and take my cashout too. What do you think?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe she never found her crew, maybe she's out there looking for them. Or, maybethey're looking for _her_. I guess we can never really know."

"I say she's dead." Vione replied. "I was one of the lead Turian engineers assigned tothe construction of the Crucible. I'm speculating here, but what was unique about it's design was that it ran off of a Terra 7x rail cannon at its core. A nasty weapon, one that we built to specifications almost one hundred times its original size, and subsequently its power. But unlike the traditional weapon, this one lacked an automatic firing signal. Admiral Hackett insisted upon us constructing it to be fired from multiple Alliance frigates in case something went wrong with one of them, yet it didn't fire."

"A malfunction?"

"No. It didn't fire because it_couldn't_ fire. There was physically no way it could**; **it lacked any form of energy. We were expecting that some hidden technology in the Citadel wouldgeneratethat energy, but the reading we got from it that day… all I know is, something had to give it power, and I believe the Citadel only unlocked that ability for someone or something to fire the weapon."

"And you figure that was Shepard?"

"There has never been a more powerful biotic. If anyone was strong minded enough and physically capable, it would be her."

A faint smile spread across Shepard's face. Before she could muster a reply, a male Quarian approached the group. He was dressed in black and purple armor, with an Arc pistol mounted to his thigh.

"Sabertooth, here with a sale, I presume?"

"You tell me, Se'Luuk**,****.** I have two live slugs from a Dreadnought and a Fortex relay engine."

"Slugs could be resold, but theFortex is useless."

"Since when?"

"Alliance doesn't want them anymore, Cerberus has released a new relay engine as part of its _NEXT_ program."

"I'm sorry, but did you just say Cerberus? The assholes who tried to control the Reapers? Who kidnapped, experimented, and killed thousands of people?" Shepard interjected angrily.

"Is it surprising? Cerberus was always convinced they were helping humanity, and the Alliance is trying to become the largest military force in the galaxy. You foolish humans are always trying to take more and give nothing back. As soon as you learned of theCouncil you tried to push for human councilors, for a human Spectre. A humandefeats the Reapers, and that was the only stepping stone the Alliance needed to push itself in front of everyone as the superior military force. Cerberus rebuilt itself after the war, promising to use its technology to help the Alliance become the strongest military force it could be." Even though he wore a mask, Shepard could tell that he was sneering.

"That's bullshit, they are just looking for some way to exploit them! How can people stand for this?"

"Look around you, human. Even with our combined efforts, there is still much to be rebuilt. Even with our combined forces, the galaxy still was shaken by the might of the Reapers. People will take any sense of security they can get, regardless of who is providing it. Besides, the _NEXT_ program is winning the majority over."

"What is that?"

"It's a suit of armor that will defend itself with you inside of it. The Alliance wants every human to be ready for war, and for those who don't want to join the military or are physicallyincapable of doing so, _NEXT_ is their best protection."

"We live in a time where jeans and a sweatshirt are replaced with a suit of armor, where babies are born with gun in their hands. And you wonder why I left Earth after the war." Shepard glared at Vione.

"Clearly, you've never seen a Turian." Vione replied with a laugh.


End file.
